The Bostonian Comes Home
by The Ikran Rider
Summary: Rick returns to his roots in the heart of New England, Boston, Massachusetts. He decides to take Tinsel along, as he's been wanting to revisit his birth town after more than 150 years. But what they'd find there would certainly be an unsuspecting surprise awaiting them, especially to the homeboy.


****A/N: Ok...lemme just say that this story can be quite inaccurate as far as locations go; these are only made for just general ideas. Two things had inspired me throughout the F-Zero series: both the intel I found at the end of Lap 46 in the anime, as well as a certain location from Maximum Velocity.****

Tinsel had always wanted to visit Boston, ever since she first heard that Rick was actually born there back in 2401. He stated to Burt that he was raised on a farm in rural Boston, he had a Labrador named Axel until he died from illness, and his father was a racer. He had to help out his family constantly since not only he and his father were fit for heavy duties, but also due to his mom's weakness from her illnesses after Rick's tumultuous birth. It was also stated that he's an only child as well since he received his ancestor's mantle bestowing him as Ryu Suzaku II. Even though he seemed to be the Brooklyn type, he was actually fresh from the heart of Massachusetts.

"I thought you were actually from Aeropolis. You said you used to live at its location before it was developed." she said.

"I had moved there once, but I didn't stay long. I've actually moved away and lived further up after my mom and my dog passed away." He sulked a little. "It was hard losing them both. It's no wonder she never wanted a second child because of what her delivery of me did. She soon died from her terminal illnesses from that, and the farm..."

After a few pauses, Tinsel spoke as she laid a hand on his broad shoulder, "Don't blame yourself. I used to lose my parents too. I guess you did need the change of location since that must've been a burden to you and your dad."

The mention of his old man perked him up, "Well, at least it wasn't too big of a loss. I mean, I went on to become a stockcar racer, just like he was. I had heard that Boston didn't house a lot of major racetracks, so I soon headed to New York where most of the action was. The Big Apple Grand Prix, the Riverhead Raceway, the Long Island Expressway, the Skyline Raceway, the Michigan International Speedway and many others." His face then lightened, "Heh, it's no wonder it had so many wonderful circuits since it's known as the Big Apple! It was, after all, the new home for my ancestors."

"And that's when you've finally met Rose and Haruka."

He nodded with a smile, "The very same." Numerous memories entered his mind, even ones so vividly as he recalled first meeting them, then when Haruka encouraged him to never give up as he struggled as a rookie, and also how she congratulated him on his hard work and success. "She was the racing queen, so they say, and I was soon enlisted as part of the police force due to my skills. I guess you could say that sport fit me like a glove.

"But, it was all because of Boston that started this budding legacy. I'd been wanting to return there for 150 years. We should wait till it's balmy so it won't be so chilly as we head further north. Are you interested?"

"Sure." Tinsel gleamed, with her eyes shining with admiration like a comet's body.

* * *

It was before the crack of dawn when Rick tugged Tinsel awake, around 4:00 am. She moaned and barely opened her eyes, barely seeing her fiancée smiling and whispering at her.

"Time to get up, Tinsel." He caressed her cheek.

"Unh... But Rick, it's early... I'm still sleepy..." Her face turned over. But Rick persisted.

"You must wake up, Tinsel, if you want to visit Boston with me."

"Unh, Boston..? But why so early..?"

"Because we can avoid the hefty traffic going there. There aren't any warp gates to use for shortcuts since it's still on Earth, but we can beat them. You can rest in the cockpit during the drive, though; it takes about four and a half hours by machine."

Slowly, but surely and groggily, Tinsel sat up and soon left the bed. Rick was already packed and he assisted her to bag her own clothes for a few days' journey and even helped her dress her exhausted self. He escorted her inside the Dragon Bird EX, started the engines, and drove off.

Using the GPS signal, he followed it toward his destination while Tinsel slumbered soundly in the passenger seat behind him. The opaque section was just enough to block out the artificial lights from his LCD screen and the city lights. Because it was too early to stop by the Falcon House, Rick had to resort to some other small joints that sold breakfast, including sweet coffee and some hot, fresh burritos; she did eat one and went back to sleep.

As the sun was rising in the red velvet sky fading to a canary texture, Rick continued on his expedition toward his birth town. The headlights soon began to fade gradually while the summer sun rose. There were quite a few sharp turns as he went, but he managed the travel just fine.

Rick and Tinsel decided to stay there for a few days, just to take some of the load off from the city lifestyle and the anxieties from bounty hunting. Rick wanted to revisit his birthland after 150 years, But instead of taking the city route, Rick had abruptly stopped just before the metropolis.

"Rick. Where are we going?" Tinsel startled.

"I'll show you." he reassured.

He said he'll take the scenic route instead. His Dragon Bird EX hovered over several dirt roads and headed through some thick woods. He didn't crash into any trees or vegetation as he kept on following the patches of rich soil. Letting his GPS recalculate multiple times, he followed his instincts and memories instead as his mind drifted to when he was a tween. He recalled himself escaping from the pressures of farmwork in order to head into his most sacred, tranquil place. He followed the VFW Parkway and the Hackensack Road to his destination.

It was known as Boston's second largest unfragmented woodland, Allandale Woods. Composed primarily of oaks, maples, and pines, Allandale Woods was one of the few pristine secondary growth oak-hickory forests in the city of Boston. Trails ran throughout the site leading to various areas of interest including scenic Rock Pond, an extensive Depression-era stone boundary wall, a cattail marsh, intertwining streams that formed the Bussey Brook, underground springs, a historic spring house, and a certified vernal pool.

It was a bumpy ride and the forest had been stretching out for miles. Then, bright sunlight nearly blinded Tinsel as her eyes suddenly needed to adjust from the thermal rays. Rick still reached over and tugged her awake, "Tinsel. Tinsel, we're here."

By the time she uncovered them, they went to a clearing. They saw the entire skyline as light and clear as the pool and brook sparkling ahead! The machine's engines nearly sounded over the trickling as the skinny waterfall filled the rocky stream, as well as the chirping of neighboring fowls.

The Dragon Bird EX halted just a few feet away from the tranquil sight, and both pilots were in complete awe. Rick eventually recovered as he faced Tinsel, "We are here." He opened the hatch, the fresh air seeped through the cockpit brushing on their faces, and he led her out. They've embraced the beauties of nature, rather than just being used to bustling cityscapes.

"This is the most beautiful brook I've seen anywhere. Almost like the ones in Green Plant..." her mind drifted off for a few seconds to the Hovercraft Hub, but Rick brought her around.

He nodded. "Yes, it is. This place was my relaxing spot before I moved away. I had always treasured this place. Even took hikes through its long, smooth trails. I was lucky to find some curious wildlife too."

Rick reflected some more as Tinsel settled down next to him. They were standing side by side taking in the peaceful, natural scenery, then he decided to have a small picnic next to it. After almost an hour, he escorted her on his past journeys. __At least this place hadn't changed in 150 years__, he thought.

"Everything's so lush out here in the spring. I couldn't take my dog out here since he'd get bitten by ticks, fleas, and roaches."

Tinsel admired every minute of it, and then, Rick invited her to take a swim inside the fresh, cool brook; the sun was rising as was the heat, after all. They even did the unthinkable as they decided to do some skinny dipping.

The water was so refreshing, thankfully there were no harmful algae blooms nor any leeches. They even embraced each other a lot, feeling their racing hearts and warm bodies cuddle up with each other and the water seemed to have warmed with these sensations.

He whispered to her, "I suppose you never got intimate in the water before..?"

"No. I don't s'pose you had that same chance with Haruka." Sometimes Tinsel wished their relationship could've gone further before that fateful night. They gazed into their glazing eyes as their faces loomed closer...

Then, suddenly Rick felt a sudden rush of water to his face, "Hey!"

Tinsel began to hurriedly paddle away before Rick could catch up to her. With some smiles, they had some contests to see who was the fastest swimmer, and who can hold their breath the longest; Rick won both, especially since he was the one who constantly tickled Tinsel to make her rise up. Curse her sensitive skin. He didn't even mind her paddling, either, to which he'd trained her to swim more properly. Whether it'd be the breaststroke or backstroke, she soon learned them. She pretty much said she had to teach herself in order to prevent her from drowning.

They immersed in the brook for almost an hour. And as they got out, Rick offered Tinsel a hand to pull her, never minding any onlookers seeing their bare bodies since no one else was around lurking at them.

"Ah, that was amazing, Rick. It was so hard never wanting to leave this place," she exasperated while wrapping herself in a towel.

"That was one of my favorite places here in Boston. I stop by here almost every day, until my mom took a turn for the worst. As did Axel."

They leaned their enwrapped bodies against one another to speed up the process of drying, and they soon got dressed. As they got ready, Rick laid himself out on the fertile grass basking in the sunlight, Tinsel followed. After awhile, he invited her close to him and they snuggled against one another. Their minds began to zone out, even Rick's who thought of what Haruka, Dr. Clash and Falcon were up to in the heavens. The gentle breeze, the sounds from the brook and the temperate weather made them dose off in each other's arms.

* * *

Bristles of grass and the fresh smell of chlorophyll twitched Tinsel's nose, causing her to awaken. Rick was still asleep as she watched him after she stretched and yawned. It was nearly sunset as the sky was churning into a light turquoise with a hint of mandarin. She remembered Rick telling her it was only the beginning since he wanted to show her the old farmland he stayed at when he was young.

She waited for him to come to, only his body was trembling at intervals while his breathing was shallow as he moaned. Whatever dream he was having surely was intense. His squeezed before they shot open. He startled himself awake with his heart racing like one of the ancient stockcars at the Daytona 500. He began to calm down as soon as he saw a blurry vision of Tinsel caressing his upper back.

"Are you alright..? You looked as if you were having a nightmare."

He rubbed the thick layers of sand from his eyes, "Mmm, I'm ok. It was actually a nice dream, but it just got more intense as the momentum was going."

"What was it? An F-Zero race?"

He stood up, "I'll, uh-I'll tell you later. Right now we need to go to my former home. Ah, I don't even remember dosing off..!"

Tinsel was thankful for the reminder, as she'd nearly forgotten it after she slept. The Dragon Bird was well on its way, and by the time they got there, through Rick's memory, it was almost dusk.

The sky was a vermillion fading into tangerine, then goldenrod, and the air was getting crisp. Following the directions from the past 165 years, Rick looked over the foreign site. Instead of having rich soil and a small bright green pasture, as well as familiar landmarks like a tall silo, tractors, or a barn or ranch house, it wasn't what he'd expect.

Rick harshly gasped and Tinsel was alarmed, asking what it was. They both beheld a barren wasteland as far as the eye could see. There was no plant life whatsoever, not a single tree, hedge, or patches of grass nor straw. Everything was empty, dry, and lifeless, and those badlands stretched on for miles around them excepting where they were. Not a single ungulate was around, either, grazing in the nonexistent grass or a fowl clucking in a coup. Rick's devastated farmland intruded his mind from his lost memories. The landscape was deafeningly silent, and Rick broke it as he thought out loud, "Everything is gone."

Tinsel stared out of the machine's windshield until she tried to reassure him with a gentle touch. They barely noticed the weathered wooden sign pointed like an arrow that read Stark Farm.

She was lost in her own thoughts that she hardly noticed Rick take some drastic measures. He contacted his allies back in Mute City, within the Task Force headquarters, and alerted Jody and Dr. Stewart on what he just found.

He eventually hopped out of the cockpit and Tinsel followed, moving like a Draugr, toward a spot where he bent and took a sample of the alien earth. He smelt it, his face wrinkled from the chemical stench, and he grabbed some dead flakes in his palm. He crushed it in a fist, vowing to reverse the damage that had been done to his family homestead and stormed into the Dragon Bird.

Using the late Falcon's keypad, he mashed around the buttons and summoned the Falcon Flyer. Minutes later, it showed up, and even Tinsel was just as disgusted when she smelt the radioactivity. Rick managed to store a sample and loaded the specimen into the dock. He then set the remote controls to Mute City so Stewart and his children can analyze it.

He gave himself time to compose himself, and Tinsel tried to ease his anguish as best she could, saying how much she's sorry to see his homeland in such a sorrowful state. "Something must be done to reverse this," he growled. "I don't care what it takes, but it must be done."

"I'm sure that Doc can find out eventually and make this land green again like it was so long ago."

"I will not rest until that happens."

Silence stretched on again, until Rick started up the engines.

As night fell, Rick and Tinsel did some stargazing outside the vehicle, just like they used to do on the Queen League track in Port Town. Rick knew there was still a lot to explore and defend in this universe, and he wonders if he and his lover would see it all.

And then, they've heard a low, slow noise. Thinking it was only their hearts, they abruptly noticed it wasn't. They listened some more until he persuaded her to follow it. By foot, they went back through the thick, withering vines and roots, until the sound was looming closer; that wave of noise, they'd realized, was coming from some drums. As they got closer, they knew they were similar to the ones they'd heard in Planet Giant, at the village where the inhabitants honored Rick at the eve of their journey to reunite the orbs of Materia.

Removing the decaying foliage, they both foresaw a large blazing bonfire at the center of a gathering ceremony. Every one of the tribesmen were banging on the massive drums while their mates danced and swayed around it. The teepees were tall and opaque, and everything and everyone glowed while they made out the shades.

The bypassers crouched down low and glued their eyes and ears deeply into the performance. The drums were gaining momentum and velocity, and Tinsel could've sworn Rick muttering it's what he saw in his dream, only it was in daylight. The light of the golden, high moon casted like a natural stage light, and then their hearts began to race.

It was exactly what they felt in Giant during their first night, strange yet pleasant. They sighed during intervals and they couldn't peel their sight and hearing away. The scenery became more enticing as their temperature rose. And they could see the same flames burning in the reflections of their eyes. Their bodies rose and fell with each passing moment as they soon intertwined with one another. The ceremony guided them into oblivion as everything happened so fast and sudden, that they never cared they were going all the way, their hearts hammering with the drums themselves. And much like the bonfire, Rick's soul began to glow and heat up, as if melting Tinsel's ice. As she was sparkling like the stars above, soothing Rick's ardency. Combined, it was like water, just as fresh as Bussey Brook. They were as limitless as the wasteland they saw, with no restrictions holding them back. It seemed to go on for hours well into the night.

Finally, Rick and Tinsel woke up inside the dark cockpit. They both wondered if whether or not it was all a dream.

* * *

By the time, they completed their odyssey in Boston, their first destination was the Task Force base. At the conference room, Stewart mentioned the soil was filled by harmful substances, disallowing for any form of agriculture to grow. Every natural inhabitant had died off, almost like the dinosaurs choking on space dust and ash. In order for new life to form, he said, the soil needed to be cultivated in order to prevent any loss of food and growth. He and Jody will spread the word out immediately. They condoled for his, and his family's, great loss.

"I know they never wanted it to end this way."

"Thanks, Doctor." Rick said in despair.

With the sight of Aeropolis again, that seemed to lift up their spirits, if only for a little while. Mother-Q was notified by the Galaxy Platoon's top scientists and agriculturists, and they soon got to work on restoring life to the farmlands.

Or so they did...

****A/N: In the end of Lap 46 in the anime, Burt said that Rick's from Boston, just as he said within the story.****

****According to the F-Zero wiki, Stark Farm's a circuit located on a barren, deserted farmland. It was once a lush, prosperous farm and a world designed for agriculture, though I only used it as a smaller rural area since I felt having a world was FAR too extreme! But, sadly, it withered and died for unknown reasons. Scientists investigated and discovered that soil was filled with harmful substances. While trying to recover all losses of food, an F-Zero track was constructed there, putting it back into the spotlight.****

****Needless to say, I'm not really big on Maximum Velocity, nor the courses in Stark Farm; I must admit that they're BORING as hell..! But since it's within and urban environment, I'd thought it'd fit well with Rick's roots. Also...I have only been in Boston once.****

****And the drive from NY to Boston is approximately 4 1/2 hrs.****

****I remembered one Easter that me and my family were visiting Harvard University, since my step cousin had a class there in microbiology. I can only remembered how beyond confusing it was, even on the GPS as it kept on recalculating, and it was excruciatingly difficult to follow all those numerous-layered roads thru NY. Boston was probably easier, but I also recalled feeling so damned jealous since, not only there were a lot of smart Asians, but compared to the high school I've attended, it was just lightyears better. Plus, I looked up once that, sadly, Boston doesn't have any major auto-racing circuits...****

****And I kinda go by the catchy tune from Family Guy, The Spirit of Massachusetts. But...that's pretty much it.****

****Plus, I just added that Big-Lipped Alligator Moment for lulz since I just submitted ********The Tribal Ceremony pic******** recently.****

****So, another branch into MV done. What do you think?****


End file.
